[13 Ways]Fixing “Cannot Open Volume for Direct Access” Effortlessly
Are you encountering the “Cannot open volume for direct access” error message on your Windows computer? This error can be frustrating as it can prevent you from running disk checks and repairing any disk errors on your hard drive or external storage device. In this article, we will explain the possible reasons behind this error and provide step-by-step solutions to fix the error “CHKDSK cannot open volume for direct access”. Let’s regain access to your data today!
Causes of The Error “Cannot Open Volume for Direct Access”
The error “Cannot open volume for direct access” in Windows 10 can be triggered by a variety of factors. Some of the typical causes of this error include:
- Errors or corruption on the disk
- Malware or virus infections
- A failing hard drive, loose cables, or a faulty disk controller
- Improper shutdowns
- Incompatibility with third-party software
To resolve this issue, it is important to identify the root cause of the problem and take appropriate measures to address it.
Recover Data from Hard Drive with The Error “Cannot Open Volume for Direct Access”
When encountering the “CHKDSK cannot open volume for direct access” error message, it is important to consider data recovery software as one of the possible solutions because this error could indicate a serious file system or hardware problem with your storage device that could result in data loss or inaccessibility.
In fact, Tenorshare 4DDiG can assist you to retrieve your important data. This powerful software offers features such as data recovery from external drives or crashed computer, deleted file recovery, and much more. To recover files from your hard drives, simply follow these steps:
Step 1: Select the drive
After launching Tenorshare 4DDiG Windows Data Recovery, you’ll see the home interface displaying the list of Devices and Drives available on your computer. Choose the disk where you want to retrieve your lost data from and click Scan to proceed.
Step 2: Scan and Preview files
The retrieved data will be listed in either tree or File View and the progress of the retrieval process is displayed on the progress bar. You have the option to pause or stop the retrieval process at any time once you’ve found your lost data.
Step 3: Recover Files
Lastly, select the files and click on Recover to save them to a safe location to prevent permanent data loss in the future.
12 Ways to Repair “CHKDSK Cannot Open Volume for Direct Access”
Option 1: Restart Your PC
Many Windows users often ask question like “Cannot open volume for direct access sd card” or “cannot open volume for direct access command prompt” on online Q&A forums. Actually, the easiest way to fix this thorny problem is to restart your PC. Following these steps:
Step 1:Turn off your PC and disconnect all external hard devices. For laptops, ensure that the battery is removed.
Step 2: Press and hold the power button for 1 mins, reconnect the external device, and restart the computer.
Step 3:Use the CHKDSK command to check if the error has been fixed.
Option 2:Turn Off BitLocker Encryption
Sometimes BitLocker Drive Encryption can trigger the “Cannot open volume for direct access” error. To fix this error, you can try disabling BitLocker Encryption:
Step 1:Press “Win+R” . Then, type “control” and hit Enter.
Step 2:Select “System and Security” and then choose “BitLocker Drive Encryption.”
Step 3:Locate the drive that you want to disable and expand it. Then, click on the “Turn off BitLocker” button and confirm the operation.
After disabling BitLocker Encryption, Launch the CMD and run the CHKDSK command to check if the error is fixed.
Option 3:Stop Using Suspicious Third-Party Apps and Services
The error message “CHKDSK cannot open volume for direct access” can be resolved by disabling third-party apps or services that may be locking the partition . The reasoning is that a third-party application, such as a virus checker or disk monitoring tool, may be locking the partition and causing the problem. Here are the steps to disable a service:
Step 1:Press “Win+Q” and search for “Services”.
Step 2:Right-click on the suspicious service and select “Properties”.
Step 3:Select “Disabled” in the “Startup type” tab.
Note:The effectiveness of this method has not been verified and therefore cannot be guaranteed.
Option 4:Use Error Checking Tool to Fix Bad Tracks
The “cannot open volume for direct access” error message could also be caused by bad tracks on the storage device. If this is the case, you can fix the problem by identifying and repairing the bad tracks. Here are the steps:
Step 1:Press “Win+E” simultaneously. Then, select the disk or storage device you want to check and repair.
Step 2:Right-click on it and click on the “Properties” button.
Step 3:Switch to the “Tools” tab and click the “Check” button in the “Error checking” section. This will start the process of identifying and repairing any bad tracks on the disk.
Option 5:Format The Drive to Troubleshoot “CHKDSK Cannot Open Volume for Direct Access”
If you have tried various solutions and are still experiencing the “Cannot open volume for direct access” error message, formatting the drive may be necessary. Don’t worry about losing your data after formatting; 4DDiG can assist you in getting back your data.
Step 1:Press “Win+E” and locate the drive you want to format. Then, right-click on it.
Step 2:Click on the “Format” button to begin the formatting process. You can choose file system or allocation unit size in this Windows.
Step 3:Wait for a few moments as the drive is being formatted. Once the process is complete, click on the “Done” icon to finish it.
Option 6:Try Windows PowerShell to Repair “CHKDSK Cannot Open Volume for Direct Access”
Windows has another built-in tool called Windows PowerShell that can be used to resolve the “Cannot open volume for direct access” error message when using CHKDSK to check a hard drive partition. Here’s how to use it:
Step 1:Press “Win +Q” and type “Windows PowerShell”. Remember to choose “Run as administrator”.
Step 2:Type “repair-volume -driveletter C” in this window and hit Enter to run the command.
Note:This command is primarily used to repair a volume, and you can replace “C” with any other existing volume on your computer.
Step 3:Once the process is complete, open the Command Prompt again and use the CHKDSK command to check if the error message has been resolved.
This method is recommended for those who have a basic understanding of computer technology. If you are not familiar with computers, you can try the following method to fix the “CHKDSK cannot open volume for direct access” error.
Option 7:Alternative Software to CHKDSK
There are several alternative software options to CHKDSK that can be used to check and repair hard drive errors. Some of these software are paid while others are free to use.
If you discover any useful software that can resolve issues like ‘cannot open volume for direct access sd card’ or ‘cannot open volume for direct access command prompt’, don’t hesitate to share it with others.
Option 8:Use the BIOS
If you encounter the error message ‘Cannot open volume for direct access’ while checking the hard drive partition using CHKDSK, performing a self-test of the primary hard drive thourgh the BIOS can help you resolve this error. Here are the steps to follow:
Step 1:Restart your computer and when the Windows logo appears, press the appropriate button to access the BIOS.
Step 2:In the BIOS settings, find the Primary Hard Drive Self Test option in the menu using the arrow keys, and press Enter.
Step 3:Once the self-test is complete, your computer will boot up normally.
Option 9:Perform CHKDSK in the Clean Boot Environment
To use clean boot for troubleshooting the “Cannot open volume for direct access” error when checking your hard drive partition with CHKDSK, follow the steps below:
Step 1. Press “Win+R” and enter “msconfig” into the box.
Step 2. In this window, Click on the “Services” button.
Step 3. Check the box labeled “Hide all Microsoft services” and click “Disable all”, then click “Apply” followed by “OK”.
Step 4. Click on “Startup” ＞“Open Task Manager”. For each item, select “Disable”.
Step 5. Restart your PC/laptop and launch CHKDSK again.
Option 10:Boot into Safe Mode
To resolve the error “cannot open volume for direct access” in Windows 10, performing CHKDSK from Safe Mode can be helpful:
Step 1:Click on the Start button and then click on the Power button. While holding the Shift key, select Restart from the expanded menu.
Step 2:After entering Windows recovery mode, click on Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings, and press F6 to start Windows Safe Mode.
Step 3:In Safe Mode, run Command Prompt as system administrator and enter the chkdsk /x /f /r command to check if the error has been resolved.
Option 11: Check Underlying Cause by the WMIC
To identify the underlying cause of the ‘Cannot open volume for direct access’ error on your hard drive, you can employ the WMIC utility in the Windows Command Prompt to check the disk status.
Step 1: Right-click on the windows start button and choose Command Prompt(admin).
Step 2: Enter the following commands one by one in the command prompt window and press Enter after each command:
- wmic
- diskdrive get status
If you receive an “OK” message, it indicates that there are no underlying issues with the disk.
Option 12:Try DiskPart
To resolve the “Cannot open volume for direct access” error, Windows provides a built-in partition utility called diskpart. This utility enables you to clean up disk space by deleting partitions and file systems, creating a fresh and clean volume. However, this method may result in the erasure of all data on your hard disk. Therefore, it is advisable to create a backup of your files beforehand if necessary.
Step 1: Press “Win+Q”, enter “cmd” into the search box, and Choose “Run as administrator”.
Step 2: In the Command Prompt window, execute the following commands in the specified order by typing them one by one and pressing Enter after each command:
- diskpart
- list disk
- select disk 5 (replace ‘5’ with the appropriate disk number)
- clean
- create partition primary
- active
- format fs=ntfs quick (formats the disk with the NTFS file system)
- assign (assigns a drive letter to the disk)
Step 3: Finally, type ‘exit’ twice and press Enter to exit.
That’all! With these solutions, you don’t have to worry the error such as “Cannot open volume for direct access sd card” or “Cannot open volume for direct access command prompt”.
Final Words about “Cannot Open Volume for Direct Access”
In summary, encountering the error message “CHKDSK cannot open volume for direct access” or “cannot open volume for direct access command prompt” can be frustrating, but there are several methods you can use to fix it. In addition, if you’ve lost important data due to this error, Tenorshare 4DDiG Windows Data Recovery can help you recover it easily. With these methods at your disposal, you can quickly overcome this error and get back to using your computer as usual.
